Alcohol

Many college students look forward to the month of March and spring break, as a way to take time off from school and relax, to recharge for the second half of the spring semester, etc.

There are healthy and unhealthy options to keep in mind when considering a rejuvenating spring break.

This is important because unhealthy choices during spring break could create more problems for the rest of the semester.

What are unhealthy spring break patterns to avoid?

Excessive alcohol, including short term, binge drinking, has been shown to impact brain functioning (1 ), and grades (2), depression (3 ), increased risk of sexual assault (4 ). this can also increase your anxiety for the weeks and months to follow.

Rest your brain. If you’ve been studying intensely, reading, writing, analyzing, etc. it may be useful to rest those areas of the brain by doing different types of activities.

Minimize screen time, if possible. If you’ve spent a lot of time doing schoolwork on your computer, it may be useful to rest that part of your brain by doing different types of activities that don’t involve screens.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

Gobbi G, Atkin T, Zytynski T, et al. Association of Cannabis Use in Adolescence and Risk of Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidality in Young Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online February 13, 2019. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.4500

As of 2015, about 22 million individuals in the United States reported using cannabis / marijuana in the last month (1). In 2011, almost 70 million Americans reported binge drinking in the last month ( binge drinking defined by the survey as 5 or more drinks on one occasion) (2).

Some individuals may consider marijuana use as they are reducing alcohol use. A recent study looked at how cannabis use might impact alcohol use.

What was the study? (3)

1,383 newly abstinent alcohol dependent individuals were participating in a multi-site randomized control trial for treatment options of alcohol use disorder in the landmark COMBINE study (4-5).

Researchers compared alcohol use among those who used cannabis versus those who did not use cannabis.

What were the study results?

The authors (3) found that compared to no cannabis use, ANY cannabis use during treatment for alcohol use disorder was related to LESS alcohol abstinence at end of treatment.

They found that each additional day of cannabis use was associated with approximately 4–5 fewer days of abstinence from alcohol (3).

In this study, cannabis use impacted how often the participants drank, but not how many drinks they had (3).

Further study in this area is needed.

What does this mean?

This study suggests that it may not be a good idea to use cannabis if you are trying to abstain from alcohol.

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.

References:

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 16-4984, NSDUH Series H-51). 2016. http://www.samhsa.gov.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/data/

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Behavioral health trends in the United States: Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50); 2015.

More attention is being given to preventing sexual assault at many colleges across the nation.

While this is a complex issue with many factors, this study suggests that students might be able to reduce their risk of sexual assault by reducing or avoiding alcohol or situations that involve alcohol.

What did the study involve?
• 1,197 students completed an online survey.
• The study authors looked at substance use by both the victim and perpetrator at the time of sexual assault.

What did the results show?
Substance use (including alcohol) was more common for both victims and perpetrators.

Of the students reporting sexual assault or forced sexual touching:
• At least 70% reported they were drinking alcohol at the time.
• At least 70% reported that perpetrators were drinking and/or drug use during incidents of sexual assault or rape.

How much alcohol was consumed by those who had the most harm in terms of sexual assault?

-Among victims 40 % females and 60% of males binge drank at least once per week over 3 months.
-Among victims, most of the study participants drank less than 20 drinks per week.

What do the results suggest?
• Substance use is often involved in both the perpetrators and victims of sexual assault.
• This study suggests that students might be able to reduce their risk of sexual assault by reducing or avoiding alcohol or situations that involve alcohol.

What are some caveats?
• Sexual assault is a complex issue with many factors involved.
• This is just 1 of many studies on the issue of alcohol and sexual assault.Resources:

Disclaimer: This article is intended to be informative only. It is advised that you check with your own physician/mental health provider before implementing any changes. With this article, the author is not rendering medical advice, nor diagnosing, prescribing, or treating any condition, or injury; and therefore claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or injury caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the material presented.References:
1. Elizabeth Reed, Hortensia Amaro, Atsushi Matsumoto, Debra Kaysen . The relation between interpersonal violence and substance use among a sample of university students: Examination of the role of victim and perpetrator substance use. Addictive Behaviors 34 (2009) 316–318

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